


Mischief Managed

by TitansRule



Series: Veritas [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Developing Relationship, F/M, Friendship, Marauders' Era, Not-a-complete-git!Peter, Only slight divergence, Original Character(s), Prequel, Romance, Sirius has a sister, Snape and Lily weren't friends, Still divergence though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-08
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2017-11-20 15:12:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/586739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TitansRule/pseuds/TitansRule
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Imagine a world where Voldemort is at full power. You don’t know who to trust, who to believe. You don’t know who works for him, who supports him, or who supports you. Every day, you hear more news of death, disappearances … you have to deal with the relief that it’s not someone you know, the guilt for feeling so relieved, and the fear that tomorrow it might be your parents, your siblings, your friends, your children … people you care about, people you love …"<br/>It was a dark picture that Sirius Black painted for four teenagers that day. But the first war wasn't just filled with fear, and pain, and guilt, and death.<br/>Amidst it all, fifteen Gryffindors lived. They kept secrets, they pulled pranks, they fell in love, and they fell out of it. Before the Golden Trio could save Hogwarts, the Marauders ruled it.<br/>This is their story.<br/>Rated Teen for now, could go up in later chapters. Prequel to Uncovering the Truth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you who haven't read the Veritas Series, I apologise for the spoilers if you're planning on heading there afterwards.  
> For those of you who have read the Veritas Series, I apologise for the spoilers you already have.  
> A few things to be aware of before we start:  
> The Veritas series was conceived pre-Deathly Hallows and, whilst some parts of my headcanon have changed in accordance to the seventh book, much of it stayed the same.  
> As such, the friendship between Snape and Lily does not exist in this story. If you are looking for any kind of Snily interaction, be it platonic or not, you're in the wrong place.  
> Secondly, my timeline is a little different. I am very aware that Bellatrix was the oldest of the sisters, that Lucius Malfoy was several years older than the Marauders, that they would have started Hogwarts in 1972 and so on and so forth. These are not mistakes, they are deliberate decisions. If I completely contradict myself, feel free to alert me, but chances are, I know that I've got something 'wrong'.  
> Thirdly, Sirius and Remus will be paired with original female characters. Again, if you're looking for WolfStar, you're in the wrong place. Feel free to stick around, but be nice about it.  
> Lastly, I will be portraying Peter the way I feel he should have been portrayed when we did get those flashbacks to the Marauder time. If James trusted him enough to put his wife and son's lives in his hands, he can not have been 'just a hanger-on'. I'm sure a longer explanation will arise later.  
> For now, enjoy.

Some stories begin with a battle – an invisible camera zooming in on the carnage of war, on the desperate fight to survive.

Some stories begin with drama – the reader is thrown straight into chaos, trying to make head or tail of twists and turns of the tales unfolding around them.

Some stories begin with romance – a secret look into the private lives of lovers as they whisper sweet nothings and exchange affectionate kisses.

This story has all three of these, but it begins, rather unassumingly, with a house – a four-bedroom, detached house, on the very edge of the English county of Kent.

It was exactly the same as the houses either side of it, the other side of the road opening out on to open fields. If one were to stand at the end of the road, on a very clear day, and peer as far into the distance as they could, they could see the rising silhouette of London – close enough to be accessible, but far enough that the hustle and bustle of the city did not disturb every day life.

The house belonged to a man named Jason Evans, the owner of a small local restaurant. It wasn’t a well-known restaurant, but it had its stream of satisfied regulars, and this meant that the Evans family – whilst not rich – lived very comfortably.

Jason’s wife, Kathleen, divided her time between working in the restaurant kitchen as a pastry chef, and volunteering at the local women’s shelter.

Jason and Kathleen had two daughters, but on this particular morning, they were both fast asleep, and the adults were indulging in a little quiet time while they had the chance.

The peace would not last long though, and footsteps on the stairs soon heralded the arrival of their youngest daughter, Lily.

Lily was almost the mirror image of her mother, with long red hair that reached her waist, but she had her father’s rather striking green eyes.

Normally, Lily’s hair would have scooped back into a ponytail, but this morning she hadn’t even bothered to brush it.

“Good morning, Petal.” Jason greeted, putting the paper down to catch his daughter as she threw herself into his arms. “And a very Happy Birthday to you!”

“Thank you, Daddy.” Lily said happily, accepting her mother’s hug as well.

“Good Lord, Lily, that was loud enough to wake the dead!” Another voice grumbled from the doorway.

Lily’s older sister, Petunia, was leaning in the doorway, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Petunia was thirteen to Lily’s eleven, but the two got along like a house on fire – most of the time.

People often marvelled at how different the two looked, though. Petunia was almost stick-thin with a very long neck, inherited from Jason’s side of the family, along with her blonde hair, but it was Kathleen’s eyes this time, wide and pale blue.

People also often said – though never in Jason’s hearing – that Lily had the better end of the genetic pot-luck, but that may have just been due to Lily’s infectious smile.

Petunia was increasingly ‘proper’, much to Jason and Kathleen’s bemusement – she had begun, when she entered her teenage years not four months previously, to become incredibly aloof in public, even with Lily, whom she used to indulge.

Lily, on the other hand, was vibrant and bright, and, whilst she looked up to and adored her sister, couldn’t care less about how she was ‘supposed’ to act.

“Petunia!” Lily sung, skipping over to her sister. “Guess what today is!”

“Not your birthday.” Petunia stated flatly.

Kathleen turned away from the oven to give her oldest daughter a stern look. “Petunia …”

“Well, it’s not!” Petunia pointed out. “Her birthday was in January.”

“We’ve been through this, Pet.” Jason said gently, drawing her to sit on the arm of his chair. “With me in hospital, there was no way we could celebrate properly, and we asked Lily when she’d like to …”

“And I said I wanted to have a summer birthday for once.” Lily finished, pouting slightly.

Petunia sighed. “Fine.” She opened her arms and allowed Lily to hug her. “Happy Birthday.”

Just before Christmas, Jason had come down with a very bad bout of pneumonia, which had indeed left him bed-ridden for two months.

When Kathleen had explained to Lily that they would probably have to celebrate her eleventh birthday without him as well, Lily had put her foot down and said that “If Daddy can’t be there, I don’t want a birthday anyway!”

When she refused to even open her cards, let alone any presents, Kathleen had given in and agreed that they would celebrate Lily’s birthday when her father got out of hospital.

He had been out of hospital for several months now, but he could understand Lily wanting to wait until July – not only was she out of school, but she also got to go out on her ‘birthday’ (it had rained relentlessly for the last ten years on the actual day).

At that moment, the doorbell rang, and Kathleen excused herself to open it, wiping her hands as she went.

The door opened on to an appropriately sunny day, and a rather stern-looking woman. She had black hair drawn into a very tight bun and square glasses, and was wearing a rather out-of-date dress.

“Mrs Evans?” She asked, a Scottish lilt clear in her voice.

“Yes.” Kathleen answered, wondering what on earth was going on.

“My name is Minerva McGonagall.” The woman said. “Professor Minerva McGonagall. I was wondering if I could have a word with you and your husband about your daughter.”

Kathleen’s brow creased. “About?”

“Schooling.” Professor McGonagall answered briskly.

“Well, Petunia is enrolled in the local secondary school.” Kathleen said. “And Lily is due to start there in September … unless there’s a problem?”

“Not a problem, as such.” Professor McGonagall gave her a thin smile. “It might be best if I could speak with both of you. Inside.”

Almost against her better judgement, Kathleen stepped back to allow the woman into her house, and led her back into the kitchen. “Darling, this is Professor McGonagall. She wants to speak to us about … You never said which daughter.”

“Lily.” Professor McGonagall said, her eyes falling on the child in question, who was opening her now-belated birthday cards. “I thought she turned eleven in January.”

“She did.” Jason answered cautiously, standing up to shake the woman’s hand. “How can we help you, Professor?”

“Lily?” Professor McGonagall asked, not quite ignoring Jason, but not acknowledging him either. “Have you ever made anything happen that you can’t explain?”

“No.” Petunia answered sharply. “She hasn’t.”

“Petunia,” Kathleen admonished again. “Manners. I’m not sure what you mean, Professor.”

“Neither do I.” Jason agreed, watching Lily closely. “But Lily does. Don’t you, Petal?”

Lily had abandoned her cards, and her lower lip was trembling. “I don’t mean to do it.” She whispered. “I don’t know how …”

“Lily, stop it.” Petunia said fiercely. “You’re _not_ doing it – you’re _normal_ , just like us.”

“Lily?” Professor McGonagall prompted.

Lily swallowed hard and looked down at her feet. “Sometimes when I’m swinging at the park … and I jump off … I go too high and I … I sort of float down to the ground.”

“I told you you’re imagining it!” Petunia snapped. “Your mind slows the fall down, so you …”

“Then what about what happened the other day?” Lily asked. “When Tommy Wilkins was teasing me and his hair turned blue!”

“Trick of the light.” Petunia said firmly.

Professor McGonagall turned to the two adults, who were gaping at their daughter. “Mr and Mrs Evans, do you believe in magic?”

“Magic?” Kathleen whispered. “You mean like fairies and witches and spells, and things?”

“They’re children’s stories, Mother!” Petunia cried. “They’re not real!”

“Petunia!” This time, it was Jason who spoke. “Is that what she’s doing then, Professor? Magic?”

Professor McGonagall reached into her pocket and drew out an envelope, which she handed to Lily.

Lily took with trembling hands, It was made of a kind of heavy parchment, rather than paper, addressed in green ink to:

_Miss L Evans_

_The Second Bedroom on the Right_

_2 Elmwood Lane_

_Kent_

It was sealed with wax – something she’d read about in books, but never actually seen before. The seal was purple, and looked like a coat of arms – a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake, all entwined around a large letter ‘H’.

She broke the seal, and pulled out a letter, written in the same green ink on the same strange parchement.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class; Grand Sorc.; Chf. Warlock; Supreme Mugwump, International Conded. of Wizards)_

_Dear Mss Evans,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by now later than 31 July._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

Lily looked up at the Professor, aware that her mouth was open. “Witchcraft and Wizardry?” She asked, ignoring Petunia’s squawk of indignation.

Professor McGonagall nodded, smiling slightly. “You’re a witch, Miss Evans.”

Jason’s eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed into a rather unmanly pile on the floor. Kathleen burst into tears. Petunia stood still, frozen in stunned disbelief.

Lily gaped at Professor McGonagall. “I’m a what?”

“You’re a witch.” Professor McGonagall repeated. She reached into her pocket again, and withdrew a carved stick about a foot long, aiming it at Jason. “ _Enervate!_ ”

With a groan, Jason opened his eyes. “Well, that was embarrassing.” He got to his feet, and embraced his crying wife. “Are you alright, sweetheart?”

“Mum?” Lily asked, her lip quivering. “ _Are_ you alright?”

“Of course she’s not alright!” Petunia snapped. “None of us are alright! We’ve just found out you’re a … a …”

“A witch.” Lily finished calmly.

“A _freak_.” Petunia spat.

“Petunia!” Jason shouted. “Upstairs now!”

“But Daddy …”

“Not another word!” Jason snapped. “Go to your room!”

Petunia stared, dumbfounded at her father for a moment, then spun on her heel and stormed out of the room, leaving a very awkward silence behind her.

It was Lily who broke it, after her sister’s bedroom door had slammed shut. “I’m not a freak, am I?” She asked, in a broken whisper.

Kathleen’s tears swiftly stopped and she threw her arms around her youngest daughter. “Of course not, Lils. Like you said, you’re a witch. And if there’s a school, there must be a lot of you.”

“A fair few.” Professor McGonagall confirmed. “The question, Miss Evans, is if you would like to join us.”

Lily glanced up the stairs towards her sister’s bedroom, then back at the letter in her hands. The three adults in the kitchen watched the young girl, all wishing they could see what was going on beneath her scarlet locks.

Finally, Lily looked up at Professor McGonagall. “What does it mean: ‘they await my owl’?”


	2. Chapter One - Start of Something

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The class list for the Marauders school year is available on veritasseries.weebly.com > Fanfiction > Mischief Managed > Hogwarts Class of 1979.
> 
> Credits after this chapter.

**September 1979**

September 1st was cold that year – unusually cold after a hot summer. At Kings Cross Station, commuters and families hurried back and forth, paying next to no attention to one another, wrapped up in thick coats and scarves.

This was no less true on platforms nine and ten, which was probably for the best, since the ticket barrier hid the gateway to the magical Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters, where the entire student population of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was currently gathering to catch the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade Station.

Most students entered through the magical barrier, some (if they had the access and the ability) stepped directly on to the platform from the ornate fireplace in a swirl of emerald green flames, often startling any Muggle-born first years who saw them.

At ten minutes to eleven, three eleven-year-olds stepped out of the fireplace, followed by an older wizard, who left them to take into the atmosphere for a few minutes while he stowed their trunks on the train.

“Wow …” James Potter whispered, pushing his glasses further up his face. “Dad tried to describe it – didn’t quite do it justice.”

“I’m surprised you can see anything through that mop.” His female companion joked, referring to his wildly messy black hair that hung over his hazel eyes.

“Leave the hair alone, Jen.” James retorted. “This is my first time – you’ve seen Regulus off before.”

“Unfortunately.” She muttered, glancing down the platform, as the other boy slipped a hand into hers.

At first glance, those who knew nothing or little of the Wizarding World could well assume that the three were siblings, given their similar looks and dark hair, and they’d be half right, but the relation between James and his two companions was no closer than second cousin.

James’s late mother, Emily, had been born Aemilia Dorea Black, cousin of Walburga Black, who had married her third cousin, Orion, and produced three children.

The oldest, Regulus, was standing with his mother and father just down the platform from the three first years. He was just entering fourth year, his school robes immaculately pressed.

Regulus was his parents’ golden boy – or, perhaps more appropriately, silver boy. He listened and obeyed their every word, embodied their beliefs that purebloods should rise above Muggles and Muggle-borns, and that Blacks should rule them all.

Unfortunately – for Orion and Walburga, that is – Regulus was not an only child. The two children standing at James’s side were Regulus’s younger siblings, Guinevere and Sirius.

Unlike their brother, they had spent enough time with the Potters that the pureblood supremacist beliefs were completely ridiculous to them, which was slowly causing an increasing rift in the Black family.

Guinevere – or Jennifer, as she preferred to be known – and Sirius may not have thought like the rest of their family, but the physical resemblance was uncanny.

Both were fairly tall, with jet black hair and stormy grey eyes, with the same highly defined facial features that set their family apart from the rest of wizarding society – not that that said much, since all purebloods were interrelated, and Black blood tended to ‘out’, as it were.

Even James, who would likely be able to pass for his father’s twin when he was older, had the basic facial structure of a Black.

“Alright,” James’s father announced, appearing out of the crowd, “trunks are on the train.”

“Thanks, Dad.” James said.

“Thanks, Uncle David.” Jen and Sirius seconded.

David Potter checked his watch and grimaced. “I’d love to stay and see you off, but …”

“I know, Dad.” James interrupted. “Work calls. I get it.”

“Er, Uncle David,” Jen said hesitantly. “I know it’s probably the last thing you want to do, but Mother was making noises about …”

“Oh, of course.” David glanced over his shoulder at the Blacks. “I should probably go and say hello, play the field. I hate playing politics.” He muttered under his breath.

“We know, Dad.” James said softly.

David hugged the three children, kissing Jen’s forehead and ruffling the boys’ hair. Then he squared his shoulders and strode over to the Blacks, instantly transforming from David Potter, father and auror, to Lord Potter, Earl of Richmond, the only reason the twins got away with spending so much time with James in the first place.

Jen tugged the boys’ sleeves. “C’mon. We should find seats.”

James narrowed his eyes towards their parents. “You drugged them, didn’t you?”

“Pardon?” Sirius asked, sounding bewildered.

“Your parents.” James elaborated, finally following them towards the train and allowing himself a grin. “You drugged them.”

“That is not true!” Jen protested, catching on.

“Is too.” James smirked. “You slipped something in their drinks to make them agree to Dad bringing you, right?”

Jen rolled her eyes. “No, James, we didn’t. Reggie’s the important one, remember?”

“Yeah.” Sirius agreed. “They’re more worried about getting their darling Heir Apparent on the train than concerning themselves with us. We got the full lecture last night before coming to you though – we’re not to associate with you and the other ‘blood traitors’ too much.”

James snorted. “They don’t know you two very well, do they?”

Jen laughed bitterly. “They haven’t known us since we were …” She broke off, colliding heavily with another girl who was hurrying in the opposite direction. “Oh, I’m sorry.” She said, catching the girl’s elbow to steady her.

The girl smiled nervously, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear. “No, I’m sorry.” She said. “I wasn’t paying attention. Excuse me.”

Jen moved to the side to let the girl pass, and turned to James. “They haven’t known us since we were six. Not really. They don’t care. Did you see which carriage Uncle David put our trunks in?”

James didn’t answer. He was staring at the redhead Jen had bumped in to, who was now talking to a woman who was obviously her mother.

“James?” Jen prompted, to no reaction. “Potter? Snap out of it!”

“I’m going to marry that girl.” James announced matter-of-factly.

Jen’s mouth fell open, but she was lost for words.

Sirius had no such trouble. “James, you’ve only just met her, mate! And you’re only eleven! You’re too young to be worrying about who you’re going to marry, short of a betrothal contract! You’re young – play the field!”

Jen rolled her eyes again. “Sirius …” she said warningly.

As much as Jen adored her brothers (and they were both her brothers as far as she was concerned), she could not deny that they could be a little arrogant at times, and it was likely to only get worse as they grew older. She knew that James’s sudden decision had bewildered Sirius – not only because of their young age, but because James and Sirius just didn’t need to make that decision that quickly.

Genetics had combined to bless both boys with looks any girl would swoon for – and any girl did. The one exception, so far, had been a young girl they had met at a park when they were five-years-old – James had dared Sirius to kiss her, he did, and she hit him.

But she was the only one. The others, if they were their age or younger, needed only a smile to blush and giggle. If they were older, they tended to dissolve into almost maternal cooing about how cute the two were.

They may have been ‘cute’ for the time being, but boyish cheekiness promised to mature into devilishly handsome by the time they reached third year.

As such, they had nothing to worry about when it came to dating, and Jen could only thank Merlin that Aunt Emily had ensured that both boys were true gentlemen, who would do nothing to take advantage of any admiring young ladies.

Which was more than could be said for the majority of pureblood males, who were raised to believe that it was their world and that everyone else was there to serve them – including pureblood women.

Oh, they would play the gentleman in public as was required, but in reality, even their wives and daughters were nothing more than vessels to carry the next generation of purebloods.

It was for that reason that Jen had always known she would break the betrothal contact she was currently tied to, however much it would anger her mother.

When she was younger, she had sworn to herself she would never marry, but as she had grown up, and seen the love Uncle David and Aunt Emily held for each other, she thought that maybe she would – but only if she could find someone who loved her like that.

Her brothers were lucky – none of them had a betrothal contract. The Potters didn’t agree with betrothal contacts in the first place. Sirius had escaped it purely because he was the youngest son. No pureblood parent wanted second best for their daughter, wanted her to be Mrs Black when she could be Lady Black, and as long as Regulus remained on the market, so to speak, they would try to win him over.

Regulus’s position was a little more precarious. Walburga Black simply could not find anyone good enough for her son. Her devotion to the Black Family was so strong, that even other purebloods, as prestigious as some of their lines were, were not pure enough.

At one point, she had even entertained the notion of betrothing _Jen_ to Regulus, but their father – thankfully – had put his foot down. Orion and Walburga were third cousins, and that was quite close enough.

That also spared Regulus from marrying either of their cousins, but they were already betrothed anyway, Narcissa to Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix to Rodolphus Lestrange.

They had a third cousin as well, Andromeda, but she had broken her betrothal to Adalricus Parkinson in favour of marrying Muggle-born Ted Tonks. The wedding had taken place a few months previously, and Andromeda had been officially disowned for it – the Black family tapestry at Jen’s childhood home had a burn mark where her name had previously resided.

It was the fate facing Jen when she finally broke the news to her parents. Assuming she survived it, she was rather looking forward to it.

Assuming Sirius kept his mouth shut and his head down, he would probably be alright.

But Sirius had never been one to keep his mouth shut, which was why Jen spoke up now, her tone warning him to stop before he put his foot in his mouth.

Again.

“No, Jen, I’m right.” Sirius told her confidently, ignoring her tone. “We don’t need to start worrying about any of that, James – trust me, we have nothing to worry about.” He punctuated his point by aiming a wink and a smile at a pair of twins who were walking past.

Both blue-eyed blondes, their fellow first years were completely identical, but their responses could not have been more different. One of them – the one closer to them – reacted the same way as every other girl Sirius came across. Her footsteps slowed, she blushed prettily, and giggled, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

Jen was spared the need to roll her eyes, however, by the girl’s sister, who did it for her. “Come _on_ , Leona!” She said impatiently. “Mum’s waiting!”

“Addie, you’re no fun!” Leona pouted, allowing herself to be pulled away.

Jen hid her own giggle at the dumbfounded expression on Sirius’s face. This had never happened before. The girl from the park might have hit him, but that was at least a reaction. This girl – _Addie, was it?_ – hadn’t even flinched.

“James,” she said, grinning broadly, “you can’t marry her. You don’t even know her.”

“It doesn’t matter.” James said, almost dreamily, still gazing after his ‘future wife’, who was now attempting to hug an older blonde, who must have been her sister. He didn’t seem to have heard anything that had been happening beside him. “I know everything I need.”

Jen smirked. “Oh, you do, do you? Alright, what’s her name?”

James sighed. “Alright. Almost everything.”

***

By the time they had been travelling for an hour, Jen was starting to tire of James and Sirius’s constant jokes. She loved them both dearly, but they could be quite draining on one’s patience, especially when they were nervous and trying not to show it.

And Sirius, in particular, she knew was nervous.

It was hard not to be, with the Sorting fast approaching.

Jen stood up abruptly, startling her companions. She didn’t want to think about the Sorting, and the huge pressure on her and Sirius to ‘uphold the family tradition’. “I’m going to look for a toilet.” She said, by way of explanation.

“What me to go with you?” Her brother asked.

Jen resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I think I’m capable of using the loo by myself, Sirius.”

“I know that.” Sirius muttered, a little red-faced. “It’s just …”

Jen’s expressions softened into a smile. “I know.” She squeezed his shoulder on the way out of the compartment. “I’ll be fine.”

As soon as the door had closed behind her, her smile disappeared.

They had chosen the last compartment on the train, for strategic purposes – it meant that they could only be approached from one direction.

Admittedly, this foresight only helped them to a certain extent, since there was nowhere to run on a train, but it did mean that they did not get any nasty surprises.

Jen and Sirius were not the only Blacks on the train, and their cousins had far more dangerous allies.

Slowly, Jen made her way towards the front of the train, glancing into each compartment before she passed. Like the positioning of their compartment, knowing where her cousins were was unlikely to help much, but it made her feel better, knowing there was space between them.

A smaller part of her just wanted to find their older brother, preferably alone.

Regulus was the one member of the family (aside from their older and newly disowned cousin, Andromeda) that Jen could remotely stand.

The typical older brother, Reggie was the one who dried Jen’s tears when she cried, picked her up when she fell, fought the monsters under her bed, and meant the world to her.

When she found him, however, he was with a group of Slytherin boys that she did not want to join, including sixteen-year-old Walden Macnair.

Conventionally, he was quite good-looking, dark hair that fell casually into place and deep blue eyes that could be as warm as a Mediterranean sea.

Could, that is, were he not a cold-hearted, Dark-minded chauvinist.

A year, maybe two years ago, being Dark-minded was not the end of the world.

Many people were, but as they had no outlet, they did not act on it, at least not in public.

Recently though, there had been rumours.

Rumours of a Dark Lord rising among the pureblood elite, a Dark Lord who promised to reclaim the world from Muggles and Muggle-borns.

Macnair bore his Mark, Jen knew.

Macnair was also the man she was supposed to marry.

One more reason to break the contract.

She waited for him to look away from the door and darted past the compartment, freezing just before the next and pressing herself against the wall.

Her heart racing, she tried to steady her breathing, forcing herself to calm down.

A burst of laughter came from her brother’s compartment and she relaxed.

They hadn’t seen her.

She didn’t like Macnair.

Quite aside from his future plans, he made her skin crawl.

The few times she had encountered him at pureblood parties and Ministry balls, he had acted like she was already his wife, keeping her pinned to his side, and pressing against her whenever he felt he could get away with it.

And he could.

As long as his hands were not touching her inappropriately (according to pureblood culture, he had the right to, but until they were married, it was not considered proper), she could not stop him without causing a scandal.

 _Well,_ she thought defiantly, checking the next compartment, _they’ll just have to be scandalised. Even if I had no problem with a betrothal, there’s got to be something wrong with a teenager who lusts over ten-year-old girls._

She reached the end of that carriage without incident, but, stepping through the door into the next part of the train, she immediately heard signs of trouble.

And, not surprisingly, her cousin was right in the middle of it.

Bellatrix Black was Andromeda’s younger sister, and looked so much like Jen, that they sometimes got mistaken as the twins instead of Jen and Sirius though.

After that, the similarities ended.

All Blacks had a vicious streak within them, no matter how much Jen and Sirius liked to pretend otherwise, but Bella’s was particularly sadistic.

She was the child who would pull the wings off of flies, and order the house-elves to punish themselves just because she could.

She was already dressed in her Hogwarts robes, her tie grey for the time being, until she was Sorted when it would (probably) become green and silver.

Bellatrix was right in the midst of a group of students, some first years, some older Slytherins, who were likely to follow in Macnair’s footsteps and join this rising Dark Lord.

Bella’s older sister, Narcissa, currently a second year, was loitering near the back of the group, both reluctant to join in, yet reluctant to leave.

As fair as Bella was dark, Cissy had been thrust into the role of pureblood heiress with the departure of her older sister. The laughter that had once shone in her eyes had dulled to a respectable iciness and, for all her wish to remain neutral, Jen knew the girl would not have a choice when she inevitably married Lucius Malfoy, who, like Bella, was right in the thick of things.

As Jen neared, she heard low sobs beneath the crowd’s jeers and laughter, and her face darkened as she realised what was going on.

“People like you are a disgrace!” Bella was saying, the words almost spitting from her mouth. “You don’t belong in our world, Mudblood, so …”

“Oh, honestly, Bella.” Jen drawled. “Can’t you come up with a more original insult than that?” She almost flinched as the attention was diverted towards her, but she wasn’t going to leave them to torment some poor Muggle-born.

“Sticking up for Mudbloods, cousin?” Bellatrix asked, smirking at her with identical grey eyes. “What would Aunt Walburga say?”

“Probably something about how Blacks are supposed to conduct themselves with the upmost decorum.” Jen retorted. “Not that I could see any decorum from _you_.”

“There’s decorum and then there’s dealing with the _scum_.” Lucius sneered, casting a disgusted eye over her Muggle jeans. “You won’t get on well in Slytherin with that attitude.”

Jen raised an eyebrow. “And who says I’m going to be in Slytherin, Malfoy?”

“Oh, believe me, _Black_ , I’d say it’s a given.” Lucius said dismissively. Drawing his wand, he turned in the direction of the Muggle-born they’d cornered, who, Jen realised belatedly, was the same redhead she’d bumped in to on the station.

Pulling her own wand, she darted through the crowd and stood in front of her. “Leave her alone.”  
There was a sharp intake of breath from the assembled crowd. Disagreeing with her cousin was one thing, outwardly defending a Muggle-born was something completely different.

_If I’m Sorted into Slytherin after this, I might as well just throw myself off the Astronomy Tower. It’d be quicker._

“Make me.” Lucius challenged, recovering quickly.

Jen hesitated, her wand pointed unwaveringly at his chest. It wasn’t that she didn’t know any spells, but they were all either household charms or Dark curses that would get her expelled before she even arrived at Hogwarts.

And they knew it too.

The stand-off seemed to stretch on for an age, until Lucius’s smirk faded and he opened his mouth, probably to curse her out of the way.

“ _Petrificus Totalus!_ ”

The shout came from behind them, and Lucius’s arms and legs suddenly locked to his side, forcing him to topple forwards.

Jen darted out of the way, pulling the Muggle-born redhead with her, and Narcissa drew her own wand, casting the counter-charm.

“Come on.” She said haughtily. “Let’s find somewhere with less … pollution.”

Bellatrix looked reluctant, but followed her sister’s delicately phrased command, along with the others. Cissy left last, but not before casting Jen a look that was just short of a smirk.

Relaxing, Jen turned to kneel beside the girl, who was physically shaking. “Are you alright?”

“Y-Yes.” She answered shakily. “I think so.”

“That was a brave thing you did.” Another voice said, the same voice that had cursed Malfoy.

Jen looked up to see who had come to their aid. He was a fellow first year, a boy with sandy-brown hair, brown eyes and very shabby clothes. He had a scar on his cheek, and he looked exhausted, but he was smiling at them.

“No braver than you.” Jen pointed out.

“They don’t know me from Adam.” He said with a shrug. “They do know you. You’re the one who’ll get the retribution.”

“Oh, they’ve been after me for years.” Jen said. “I’m not the one I’m worried about.”

“I’ll be alright.” The girl said, her voice still trembling. “What was … What was all that about?”

Jen sighed. “Some people …” She began, then stopped. “Some people believe that Muggle-borns are inferior to purebloods. It’s ridiculous, of course, but ...”

“That’s what the word ‘Mudblood’ means.” The boy said, when she trailed off, grimacing at the word as though it left a nasty taste in his mouth. “Dirty blood. It’s disgusting.”

“Please don’t judge all of us by that lot.” Jen said, helping the girl to her feet. “You’re a first year, right?”

She nodded, her eyes downcast. “My sister thinks I’m a freak, Mum and Dad don’t really know how to handle it, and now …”

“You’ll be fine.” The boy said confidently. “A lot of people come from Muggle families, and they learn fast. What’s your name?”

“Lily.” She answered. “Lily Evans. I was looking for somewhere to sit.”

“Remus Lupin.” He said. “So was I.”

Now Jen looked, she could see that there was a trunk behind Remus, blocking the corridor, and another trunk was open and the contents scattered a few feet away. “Jennifer Black.” Jen added. “I was looking for that lot.” She smiled slightly at their befuddled expressions. “Well, it’s good to know where they are, so I can avoid them.”

Remus chuckled. “Yes, I suppose so.” He pointed at the other trunk. “Is that yours, Lily?”

Lily nodded, still looking miserable. “I think most of it’s in one piece.”

“Got your wand?” Jen checked. She wouldn’t put it past Bella to snap a wand if she didn’t think the owned deserved one.

To her relief, Lily pulled a slender stick of willow from her pocket. “I don’t know any spells yet.”  
“I only knew that one because Dad taught me.” Remus said hastily.

“And I only know family spells.” Jen said, shuddering. “Trust me, you didn’t want me to use any of those. I only asked to make sure it was still safe.”

“Come on.” Remus said. “We’ll help you get all of this packed away again.”

“Thank you.” Lily whispered, a small smile finally appearing on her face.

Between the three of them, they managed to gather up Lily’s belongings and fit them back in her trunk.

“There should be room in our compartment.” Jen said, closing the trunk. “You can sit with us, if you want.”

They both agreed, and Jen led them back the way they came, she and Remus walking either side of Lily almost subconsciously. When she reached Regulus’s compartment, she hesitated, looking at Remus over Lily’s head.

“Would you mind if we swap places?” She asked. “There are people in there I don’t really want to see. Or want to see me. Long story,” she added, to Lily’s questioning glance.

Remus looked confused as well, but agreed, and they passed the compartment without incident, much to Jen’s relief.

Finally, they reached the last compartment, and Jen pushed the door open. She just had time to register that the compartment was emptier than it had been, before she was hit by a jet of purple light.

Lily let out a startled scream, but Jen merely sighed, glancing up as her black hair turned bright purple.

“Why am I not surprised?” She said wearily, standing back to let the other two in. “Don’t worry, they never pull the same trick twice.”

“Er, _who_ never pulls the same trick twice?” Lily asked nervously, staring at the empty seats.

Jen pulled the door closed and reached over, feeling around where her brother’s head had been earlier. After a few seconds, her hand hit silky material, and she grasped and pulled, David Potter’s Invisibility Cloak appearing in her hand, and James and Sirius’s heads appeared in mid-air. Freed from their hiding place, they burst into peals of laughter.

“Does Uncle David know you have this?” Jen asked, mildly disapproving, as she revealed the rest of them and folded the Cloak.

“Of course.” James said, sounding affronted. “He gave it to me last night.”

Jen rolled her eyes. “Remind me to thank him.” She muttered. “Honestly, boys, I’m out keeping control of Bella, and you’re turning people’s hair purple!”

“Not people,” Sirius argued, snickering, “just you.”

“Wait, what was your cousin doing?” James asked sharply, his laughter evaporating.

Jen sighed, nodding to Lily as she helped the girl stow her trunk away. “Two words: Muggle-born.”  
“I’m fairly sure that’s one word.” James disagreed.

Jen shook her head. “No, it’s two.”

“One.”

“Two.”

“One!”

“Two!”

“Actually,” Remus interrupted, “you’re both right. It’s hyphenated.”

Jen wrinkled her nose. “We’ll compromise. Remus Lupin, Lily Evans, this is James Potter.” She gave James a stern look, silently warning him not to mention his earlier assertion that he would one day marry Lily.

Thankfully, he settled for a warm smile and, “Nice to meet you. Which one of you was having trouble?”

Lily lifted her hand, turning slightly red again, and James scowled. “You don’t want to listen to them, Lily. They’ve got about three brain cells between them.”  
Lily laughed, almost reluctantly, and Sirius cleared his throat. “Aren’t you going to introduce me, Jen?”

Jen rolled her eyes. “Don’t be an idiot, Sirius – who’d want to know you?”

Sirius pulled a face at her and removed the charm from her hair. “I’m Sirius, Jen’s brother.” His eyes darted towards Remus for a split-second, and Jen understood automatically.

“Remus hexed one of the Slytherin wannabes for me.”

Sirius sniggered, giving the other boy a high-five. “Nice! Which one?”

“Malfoy.” Jen answered.

“Even better.” James and Sirius said in unison.

***

By the time the train pulled to a stop in Hogsmeade Station, the sky was dark, the first stars just starting to glimmer. Jen’s eyes automatically searched the sky as she stepped on to the platform, alighting on the stars her brothers had been named after.

All along the train, people were piling out, calling to friends, pushing and jostling.

“Where do we go now?” Lily asked nervously.

“I don’t know.” Jen admitted.

“Dad just said we’d know.” James added, catching Jen’s hand.

The girl rolled her eyes as Sirius did the same thing. “One of you keep hold of Lily as well, will you? No point in us getting separated.”

“Got it.” Sirius said, beating James to it. He grasped Lily’s hand tightly, causing the girl to turn slightly pink, but she held out her other hand to Remus without hesitation, and he took it with a smile.

“FIRS’ YEARS!” A loud voice boomed. “FIRS’ YEARS OVER ‘ERE!”

“I guess we want to go that way.” James said. “Come on.”

Joined together like some bizarre train, they followed the voice, only to stop dead a few feet away from the source.

The source turned out to be a man, larger than any of them had ever seen, towering above the crowd. His face, hidden almost entirely by a big bushy beard, was illuminated by the giant lantern he held.

As Lily squeaked in terror, James made a small noise of understanding. “That must be Hagrid.” He said. “Dad told me about him. He only _looks_ scary, apparently.”

“Brilliant.” Sirius said enthusiastically, dragging the others forward. When he reached Hagrid, he looked up, craning his head to see his face. “Whoa, you’re huge.”

“Talk about stating the obvious.” Jen muttered.

Hagrid beamed down at them. “Ready to start Hogwarts, you lot?”

“Definitely.” James said with a grin. “Been ready for ages.”

Hagrid chortled. “Spoken like a true Potter. You must be James.”

“That’s me.” James confirmed. “And this is Jen, Sirius, Lily and Remus.”

“Nice to meet ya.” Hagrid said, before raising his voice again. “FIRS’ YEARS OVER ‘ERE!”

It took nearly twenty minutes for all the first years to assemble, whereupon Hagrid led them off of the platform and down a narrow path that twisted and turned.

“You’ll get ya first sight o’ Hogwarts in a minute!” Hagrid called over his shoulder. “Just round this corner!”

Jen couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her. They emerged on the bank of a great lake, which was at the bottom of a cliff, at the top of which stood a grand castle. Its many turrets gleamed in the light of the crescent moon, the windows glowed, and the very sight seemed to warm something inside her.

“That’s our school?” Lily whispered in awe.

“Guess so.” Sirius responded, just as softly.

No one talked much after that, not even when Remus left them to join up with three others to take the boats across the lake, although he rejoined them as soon as they reached the other side.

Huddled together more closely than was strictly necessary, the new first years followed Hagrid up a rocky passageway and out onto a dark sweeping lawn in the shadows of the castle.

In no time at all, they were standing in an ante-chamber, then walking down the middle of the Great Hall, then standing at the front, under the intense gaze of the rest of the students.

Lily was so pale that her hair made her look as though her head was on fire. James had abandoned his usual confident grin. Remus kept swallowing nervously.

Jen and Sirius looked thoroughly bored.

On the outside, that is.

They were both well-versed in the art of keeping a straight face, but inside, Jen was fairly sure she was about to throw up, and she wouldn’t be surprised if Sirius felt the same way.

Professor McGonagall placed a three-legged stool in front of them, with a tatty wizard’s hat on top.

For a few minutes, everyone just stared at the hat.

Then it took a deep ‘breath’ and began to sing.

Part of Jen’s stomach relaxed as the Sorting Hat explained the process. Trying on a hat wasn’t too bad, but it still took her fate out of her hands, something she wasn’t at all comfortable with.

Applause jolted her out of her contemplation, and she realised that the Hat had finished singing, bowed to the four house tables, and was silent.

Professor McGonagall picked it up by the tip, and turned to the new first years. “When I call your name, you will come and sit on the stool. I will place the hat on your head, and it will sort you into one of the four houses. Allonzo, Stephanie!”  
 _Oh Merlin, they’re Sorting us alphabetically. That means Sirius and I will be sooner rather than later._

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

The table closest to them on the right cheered, and Stephanie darted down to sit at the table, looking thoroughly relieved.

“Avery, Hubert!”

Jen pulled a face internally. She had no doubt as to where Avery would go and, sure enough, the Hat shouted, “SLYTHERIN!”, and he sauntered off to the table on the far right, which was applauding politely.

“Banhold, Mary” and “Bennett, India” became a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff respectively, then …

“Black, Bellatrix!”

As her cousin stepped forward with a confident smile, Jen’s heart seemed to settle in her throat. _I can’t be in Slytherin. I can’t be in Slytherin._

She tried desperately not to look towards the Slytherin table, but she could still see her older brother’s face out of the corner of her eye.

If there was one person she was afraid of disappointing, it was Regulus.

The Hat had barely touched Bella’s head when it screamed “SLYTHERIN!”

 _No surprise there._ Jen resisted the urge to roll her eyes – just – as Bella made her way over to her sister with a smirk.

“Black, Jennifer!”

The use of her chosen name rather than her given name almost made Jen hesitate, but James caught her eye and mouthed “Dad” at her.

Jen was somewhat relieved, She was fairly sure she would have still stepped forward had Professor McGonagall called ‘Guinevere’, but it would have gone against her principles.

As she sat down on the stool, she was fairly sure she was about to pass out. The last thing she wanted was to be in Slytherin, yet the last thing she wanted was to disappoint her brother.

_The rest of the family can sod off as far as I’m concerned, but Reg …_

His voice floated into her mind. _“No matter what house you’re Sorted into, you are going to be an incredible witch. And I love you, alright? No matter what.”_

Trusting her brother to keep his promise, Jen closed her eyes as the Hat fell over them. _Anywhere but Slytherin. Please._

Like Bellatrix, the Hat barely touched her before making its decision.

But it wasn’t the one the Great Hall expected.

“GRYFFINDOR!”  
Jen’s eyes flew open under the hat. That … was not what she had been expecting.  Ravenclaw, maybe, but Gryffindor?

She didn’t feel remotely brave at the moment.

The Great Hall was completely quiet. A few Gryffindors – probably Muggle-borns – had applauded briefly, but had fallen silent when they realised that something wasn’t right.

She almost wished the Hat would just stay on her head, blocking her view of the other students, but almost as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she dismissed it.

_Start as you mean to go on. That’s not very Gryffindor._

_You see,_ a snide voice said, _I did Sort you right. Good luck._

The Hat was lifted from her head, and Jen hastily schooled her expression to one of unflustered neutrality, looking up at Professor McGonagall, who looked shell-shocked.

Then, a small smile creeping onto her face, the normally strict teacher nodded to the Gryffindor table. “Off you go, Miss Black.” She whispered.

Standing up and smoothing down her robes, Jen walked on shaky legs towards her new house. As she did, she was vaguely aware of some of the teachers clapping, but they stopped quickly.

_To face them or not to face them, that is the question. Face them. I don’t particularly want to turn my back to them. Giving them detention won’t undo their actions._

Rounding the table so she was facing the rest of the hall, Jen sat down on the stone bench, pretending not to notice the way the other Gryffindors shifted away from her.

Almost against her wishes, her eyes glanced at the Slytherin table, but Regulus wasn’t looking at her, deep in conversation with Bellatrix.

She wanted to believe he was standing up for her, but she couldn’t help the sick feeling that rose up in her stomach and whispered that she had just lost her big brother.

“Black, Sirius!”

“Merlin, not another one.” One of her new housemates muttered.

Jen’s gaze shot to the first years in time to see her twin step forward. He caught her eye and smiled encouragingly, before the Hat settled over his head as well. She let her eyes wander along the line of first years until she found James, standing next to Lily. He grinned and gave her a thumbs-up, and she felt some of her stomach reappear from wherever it had vanished to.

Unlike Jen and Bellatrix, Sirius was clearly not going to be a quick Sorting.

One minute, stretched into two, into three, into four, each feeling like an hour in the silent Great Hall, stars twinkling in the enchanted ceiling above them.

As the five-minute mark approached, people began to fidget, muttering to one another.

“Could be a hat-stall.” Someone whispered, just loud enough for Jen to hear, though she was sure it hadn’t been aimed at her.

Just as Jen thought the tension would explode, the Hat twitched on Sirius’s head, opened the rip near the brim that seemed to serve as a mouth and shouted, “GRYFFINDOR!”

A rush of air escaped Jen’s mouth in a rush as the rest of her stomach appeared. There was a bit more applause this time, but not much, and it stopped quickly.

Professor McGonagall lifted the Hat and Sirius almost ran to join her, hugging her tightly.

“We’re both dead tomorrow.” He predicted lowly, under the pretence of kissing her cheek.

“At least we’re together.” Jen returned, fixing his now red-and-gold tie. “Now pay attention.”

“Bones, Alice!”

Jen looked up hopefully. The Bones family lived next door to the Potters, and Alice, along with her older brother Edgar, who was in Hufflepuff, was David Potter’s godchild.

James, himself, considered her a younger sister, and she knew Jen and Sirius for who they were, rather than by family reputation.

_If she comes this way as well, we might just be alright. Sirius’ll be alright if James follows family tradition, but I’ll be all on my own._

“GRYFFINDOR!”

Amidst the applause, Alice jogged down to sit with them, smirking at them as she sat down. “You two know how to make an entrance, don’t you?”

Sirius shrugged. “What can I say, Ally, it’s a gift.”

Alice chuckled, before catching sight of the older Gryffindors staring at them. “What?!” She snapped. “Never seen first years before?”  
Jen hid a smile as the watchers looked away hurriedly. Alice could be incredibly protective over the people she cared about – she was willing to bet that the Sorting Hat spent the time on her head debating Gryffindor or Hufflepuff like her brother.

The next few people were sorted fairly quickly. “Brown, Henrietta” went to Hufflepuff, as did the Cabot triplets, Clover, Farran and Rowan, and “Charter, Timothy.”

“Cotswold, Amanda” joined them at the Gryffindor table, and “Crabbe, Vincent” (Jen pulled a face at the name, she’d never liked him) joined Slytherin, before “Dale, Cassidy” became the first Ravenclaw.

Though she didn’t voice it, Jen was fairly sure she recognised Cassidy’s face from another pureblood family, though the last name was unfamiliar.

“That’s Millicent Burke’s daughter.” Alice whispered to her, as “De Wolfe, Emmanuelle” became a Hufflepuff. “Remember, she broke her betrothal and ran off with a Muggle.”

“Glad you said it.” Jen muttered. The rest of their house-mates overhearing Alice would take it as gossip – coming from her lips, it would have been considered slander.

“Edwards, Isabelle” became a Slytherin and “Edwinson, Marcus” became a Ravenclaw, and then …

“Evans, Lily!”

Jen crossed her fingers under the table.

“Know her?” Alice asked, spotting the movement.

“Met her on the train.” Jen answered, not looking away from Lily. “Some people were hassling her because she’s Muggle-born …”

“So?!” One of the seventh years demanded. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Did you just hear ‘Muggle-born’ and assume she was insulting her?” Sirius hissed. “Jen was the one who pulled her wand to defend Lily, back off.”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

“A Black befriending a Muggle-born,” the same seventh year scoffed, “I’ll believe that when I see it.”

Jen barely heard them, as she clapped, opening her arms just in time for Lily to hug her tightly.

“That was so scary!” Lily gasped. “I think I’m about to throw up!”  
“Join the club.” Jen said, moving along to make room between her and Sirius. “This is Alice, by the way.”

Alice shook her hand across the table. “Hi.”  
“Nice one, red.” Sirius said cheerfully, gently tweaking a strand of her hair.

Lily gave him a warning look, the nickname having started around lunchtime in spite of her protests.

“Don’t bother.” Jen warned. “It’ll make him worse.”

Lily focussed her attention on Jen. “What happened when you were Sorted?”  
Jen grimaced. They’d managed to get all the way through the train-journey without explaining to Lily about their family, and it wasn’t a conversation she was looking forward to having. “Tell you after the Sorting.” She whispered, as “Figg, Arabella” was called to the Hat.

“She looks familiar.” Jen murmured, narrowing her eyes.

“Yeah, she does.” Sirius agreed. “Can’t place her though.”  
“GRYFFINDOR!”

As Arabella made her way to their table, Jen suddenly realised where she recognised her from. “Sirius? You remember when we were five and at the park …”

Sirius’s jaw dropped. “No way.”

“Yes way.” Arabella said cheerfully, sitting down beside Alice. “Small world.”

“What?” Lily asked curiously.

“Nothing that needs to be repeated.” Sirius said hastily, looking pleadingly at Arabella. “I’m sure we’d all be happy to pretend it never happened.”  
“Fine by me.” Arabella agreed, as “Friar, Matthew” was Sorted into Ravenclaw.

“Gibbon, Katherine” joined her older brother in Slytherin, before “Goston, Samantha” joined Gryffindor, perching right at the end of the bench on Alice’s side of the table.

“Goyle, Gregory” joined Slytherin as well, not that it was a surprise.

“Probably best they’re together.” Sirius said quietly, as Goyle sat down beside Crabbe.

“Why’s that?” Jen asked.

“Because then they’ve at least got one brain cell between them.” Sirius quipped, earning a chuckle from some of the older students as well.

The next few students flew by, with no familiar names aside from the odd pureblood family. “Green, Robert” … “Hammer, Gale” (“RAVENCLAW!”) … “Hart, Michael” (“HUFFLEPUFF!”) … “Hennessy, Westin” (“RAVENCLAW!”) … “Irwin, Hailee” … “Johnson, Richard” ( “HUFFLEPUFF!”) … “Jugson, Calista” (“Pureblood,” Jen and Sirius chorused as she joined the Slytherins) … “Jules-West, Grayson”, “Lane, Crystal”, “Lebeau Louis” (“RAVENCLAW!”).

“Longbottom, Frank!” became a Gryffindor, and Sirius breathed a sigh of relief.

“You know him?” Alice asked, watching the boy shrewdly as he tripped over his own feet on the way to the table.

“No.” Sirius answered. “But for a moment there, I was the only male first year in Gryffindor.”

“Lovegood, Seleine!” went to Ravenclaw, and sat next to an older boy who must have been her brother. They both had the same slightly vacant expression.

“Lupin, Remus!”

“Here we go.” Sirius muttered.

“I’m guessing this one you know.” Alice remarked, as Remus disappeared under the Sorting Hat. “Looks a bit ill, doesn’t he?”

“Probably worried.” Jen said dismissively. “He told us on the train that his mum’s really sick.”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

Sirius let out a whistle as the table applauded, and Remus fell into the seat beside Alice. “Thank Merlin that’s over.”

“I’m just glad we’re all together.” Lily said. “Well, almost.” She added, glancing at James.

“He’ll be a Gryffindor too.” Jen said confidently, as “Mahone, Garth” became a Hufflepuff. “All Potters are.”

“Because all children are in the same house as their parents.” Alice said slyly, but not maliciously.

Jen rolled her eyes. “It’s different. James is practically a carbon-copy of Uncle David.”

“Malfoy, Lucius!”

Jen and Sirius both looked up sharply, but Malfoy was Sorted into Slytherin almost immediately. He slid into the seat beside Narcissa, who gave him a smile which, though charming, didn’t reach her eyes.

“Mann, Hayley” and “Matthews, Dana” both became Hufflepuffs, before “Marks, Henry” became a Ravenclaw and “McCole, Allan” joined the badgers too.

“McKinnon, Addison!”

“Sirius, it’s your friend from the platform.” Jen whispered as the blonde girl stepped forwards. “Remind me to give her a medal.”

Sirius rolled her eyes. “Might be her sister.”

Jen shook her head. “No, her sister called her Addie. Must be short for Addison.”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

Addison joined them, sitting beside Jen as her sister, Leona, was called forward as well.

“GRYFFINDOR!”

“Well, that was fairly neat.” Jen commented, applauding. “And you,” she added sternly to Sirius, “behave yourself.”

Sirius pouted, but didn’t respond, staring at the line of first years. It was slowly dwindling, and M wasn’t that far away from P.

“Melanson, Julie!” “RAVENCLAW!”  
“Monroe, Claude!” “SLYTHERIN!”  
“Mulciber, Phillip!” “SLYTHERIN!” (“Not surprising.” Sirius and Jen chorused.)

“Nielson, Stuart!” “HUFFLEPUFF!”

“Nott, Theodore!” SLYTHERIN!” (He got a ‘not surprising’ chorus as well.)

“O’Malley, Roxy!” “HUFFLEPUFF!”  
“Orpington, Pleione!” “RAVENCLAW!”

“Come on,” Jen muttered. She was starting to get nervous all over again.

“Peters, Laura!” “HUFFLEPUFF!”

“Peterson, Shaun!” “HUFFLEPUFF!”

“Nearly there.” Sirius whispered.

“Pettigrew, Peter”, a short, slightly plump boy, joined Gryffindor as well, before …

“Potter, James!”

Jen crossed her fingers under the table again, but she needn’t have bothered.

“GRYFFINDOR!”

Sirius let out another ear-splitting whistle, and James jogged over to join them, grinning broadly. “Don’t know why you all look so relieved.” He said, hugging Jen and Alice, and smacking Sirius over the head for good measure. “I was perfectly calm.”  
“You looked like you were about to faint, Jamie.” Alice told him.

“Alice!” James whined. “Do you have to?”

Alice looked like she’d retort, but Jen hissed at them both to be quiet, as “Prewett, Madeline” got Sorted into Gryffindor as well, making a beeline for Samantha, who looked thoroughly relieved.

_They must have sat together on the train._

There was no one else in the line of first years that Jen knew personally – at least, none that she liked – but she listened anyway, hearing her stomach begin to protest now that she had nothing (much) to worry about.

“Prince, Cassandra” became a Slytherin, while “Princeton, Annabelle” became a Gryffindor, sitting beside the McKinnon twins.

Then came two Jacobs – Puck went to Ravenclaw, while Reeli went to Hufflepuff with “Robins, Michaela”. “Rosewood, Eleanor” became a Slytherin, as did “Rosier, Evan” and “Rowle, Orla”.

Lenna Roy and Martin Runson both went to Ravenclaw, Chloe Saffron became a Hufflepuff, before Jennifer Scrunter became a Ravenclaw as well.

“Selwyn, Delilah!” “SLYTHERIN!”

“Smith, Shane!” “HUFFLEPUFF!”

“Snape, Severus!” “SLYTHERIN!”

“Merlin,” Sirius muttered. “Do you think that kid’s ever showered?”  
Jen kicked him under the table. “Be nice!”

“Ow!” James hissed, as “Sparks, Lilly” joined Hufflepuff. “I didn’t even say anything!”

Jen glared at her brother, who smiled at her innocently. “Sorry, James. I was aiming for this idiot. I guess he moved.”

“Sirius, how could you?” James gasped.

(“Stanton, William!”

“All’s fair in love and war, Jamie.” Sirius said sagely.

“Don’t call me that!”

(“RAVENCLAW!”)

“Children!” Alice said sweetly. “Do shut up so I can hear the rest of the Sorting. There’s only about eight people left. You can have your little domestic then.”

“Stebbins, Benjamin!” “HUFFLEPUFF!”  
“Storm, Jasmine!” “RAVENCLAW!”

“Tadermin, Oliver!” “RAVENCLAW!”

“Huh.” Jen muttered. “Had him pegged for Slytherin.”

“Vance, Emmeline!” “SLYTHERIN!”

“Westbrook, Calliope!” “SLYTHERIN!”

“Come on!” Sirius groaned. “I’m starving!”

Jen rolled her eyes. “Three more, Sirius, that’s all.”  
“Wilder, Eric!” “RAVENCLAW!”

“Wilkes, Phoebus!” “SLYTHERIN!”

“Williamson, Kenzie!” “RAVENCLAW!”

And, as the cheers died down from the Ravenclaw table, Professor McGonagall nodded to the Head table, rolled up the parchment and removed the stool from the Hall.

Headmaster Dumbledore, resplendent in robes of deep purple, rose from his chair and beamed down at them. “Welcome!” He said, eyes twinkling. “And to our older students, welcome back! There is a time and a place for long speeches – here and now is not it. Tuck in!”

“Here, here!” James and Sirius called, as food appeared on the golden plates.

“Wow …” Lily whispered. “At least I can reassure Mum that I’m not going to waste away.”

“Definitely not.” Jen agreed, filling her plate.

“So what was all that about?” Lily asked. “Everyone seemed surprised when you got into Gryffindor.”

Jen sighed. “Do we have to do this now? It’s hardly a conversation that lends itself to a decent appetite.”

“She deserves to know.” Alice said gently from across the table. “So, Arabella, where did you grow up?”

Jen sighed again, as Alice quickly engaged her neighbour in conversation. “Thanks. Don’t help, or anything. Okay, Lily, do you remember the people on the train?”

“Yes.” Lily said with a shiver. “Why?”

“My entire family has been in Slytherin and basically agree with them.” Jen said in a rush. “Actually I’m related to half of them. Bellatrix is my cousin, unfortunately.”

Lily nodded thoughtfully. “Potatoes?”

Jen was taken aback. “Excuse me?”

“Potatoes?” Lily repeated, holding up the bowl. “Do you want some?”

“Oh. Yes please.” Jen took the bowl and dropped a spoonful of mash on her plate. “Is that it?”

“Is what it?” Lily asked.

“I think what she means,” Addison McKinnon said from Lily’s other side (at least, Jen thought it was Addison), “is that she just told you that her family is well-known for their hatred of people like you, and your response was to offer her mash potato.”

“Yes.” Jen agreed. “That was what I was getting at.”

“Well, you defended me on the train.” Lily said. “So you obviously don’t hate people like me. And I put more stock in the girl I sat with on the ride here than the reputation of your family.”

Jen took a gulp of pumpkin juice to get rid of the lump in her throat. It didn’t help enormously, but it did mean that she could speak without her voice breaking. “Thank you.” She said, trying to sound as though Lily’s reaction was what she expected to be the norm, rather than the exception. “At least I’ll have two friendly faces in the dorm.”

“Three.” Addison corrected, over Lily’s head. “Four if you count Leona.” She added, nodding towards her sister and proving Jen right. “Although she probably hasn’t even noticed there’s anything odd to start with.”

Leona looked up, eyes wide. “What’s odd?”  
Addison rolled her eyes. “Nothing, Lee. Just enjoy your dinner.”

“So if she’s Leona, you must be Addison, right?” Lily asked.

“Addie.” She corrected. “And, yes, before you ask, we are identical.”

“Any way of telling you apart?” Jen asked.

Addie grimaced. “Well,” she said, lowering her voice, “I don’t like to say it, but I’m a bit more intelligent than Leona. Just ask if you’re not sure. Neither of us takes offence and we’re not the kind of twins that pretend to be each other every five minutes.”

Jen grinned. “Well, since we’re on the subject, I guess I should come clean as well. Sirius and I _aren’t_ identical.”

Lily gasped. “You’re not? I thought you were!”

Jen shook her head. “No, a lot of people do. There’s an easy way to tell us apart though.”

“What’s that?” Addie asked, playing along.

“I’m better looking.” Jen said, causing them both to laugh.

“Can we tell you apart because he’s a boy and you’re a girl?” Leona asked.

Addie sighed, and smiled at her sister. “That too, Leona – we were joking.” She looked back at Jen and Lily. “See?”

“I do see.” Lily said gravely. “It’s fine. My sister can be a bit like that too.” She added, her face falling.

“She’s not a witch?” Addie asked sympathetically.

Lily shook her head, poking at her meal. “And she’s not too happy about me being one either.”

Jen gave her a quick one-armed hug. “I’m sure she’ll come around – a lot of Muggles have trouble adjusting.”

Addie nodded in agreement. “Just give her time to get used to the idea.” She hesitated. “Speaking of trouble, should we be worried?”

“About what?” Jen asked blankly.

“That.” Addie said, nodding at something behind her.

Jen turned her head to see James and Sirius deep in conversation with Remus, all three laughing about something. “Well, I don’t know about Remus, but those smirks on James and Sirius’s faces are never a good sign.”

“So we _should_ be worried.” Lily concluded.

“Forget us.” Jen said. “The whole school should be very, very afraid.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the somewhat monotonous Sorting - it wouldn't come any other way.
> 
> Credits:  
> Cassandra Prince and Eleanor Rosewood - HopeCoppice  
> Clover, Farran and Rowan Cabot - blackestdaekfire  
> Emmanuelle De Wolfe, Gale Hammer, Louis Lebeau and Garth Mahone - capt-hazard  
> Cassidy Dale, Matthew Friar, Westin Hennessy, Jacob Puck, William Stanton - caticate  
> Chloe Saffron - crystalbutterfly  
> Henrietta Brown - Frances Carter  
> India Bennett - lolwattalie  
> Hailee Irwin - look-listen-and-learn  
> Isabelle Edwards - Phee Evans  
> Henry Marks - myotherblogilost  
> Robert Green and Kenzie Williamson - teenXpotter  
> Michael Hart, Seleine Lovegood and Claude Monroe - thegirlwhowasabrokenmirror  
> Julie Melanson and Jacob Reeli - thesilverandgreendementor  
> Crystal Lane and Jasmine Storm - Katie  
> Lilly Sparks - IggyPogo
> 
> Grayson Jules-West, Pleione Orpington, Lenna Roy, Jennifer Scrunter, and Shane Smith were all provided anonymously.


	3. Chapter Two - The First Day

As the last of the puddings vanished from the tables, the Headmaster stood once more, beaming at the students gathered before him as though he had never seen such a wonderful sight in his life. “And now,” he said, “I beg you to indulge me just a little more before that excellent meal carries you into dreamland.”

Jen elbowed Sirius, who looked like he was about to fall asleep on his now clean plate.

“Mr Filch would like me to remind you that magic is _not_ allowed in the corridors,” Dumbledore continued. “He would also like to add that there are a number of banned objects, the full list of which may be viewed in his office. All four Quidditch teams have open vacancies and the captains will be holding try-outs this weekend. I must remind our first years that, unfortunately, you are not allowed your own brooms before second year and therefore, will need to wait until next year to try out.”

James groaned.

“In the meantime, Prefects, please escort the first years to your common rooms. You all need to rest up for your first day back. Goodnight.”

A general murmur of voices and a wave of movement rippled through the Great Hall. Jen clambered off the bench, catching Lily’s arm as she threatened to topple over.

“Thanks,” Lily muttered. “There’s no graceful way of doing that, is there?”

Jen eyed the benches dubiously. “I get the feeling we’ll figure it out on the last day of seventh year.”

“First years! First years, over here please!”

The fifteen Gryffindor first years made their way down the table to where the prefects were waiting by the doors. Lily slipped her hand into Jen’s and squeezed it tightly.

As soon as the first years were in earshot, the female prefect spun on her heel with an almost perfect hair flip and stalked towards the doors.

Her male counterpart gave them a bright smile, as though trying to make up for her silence. “Hi everyone, my names Martin Watford, my charming partner is Cassie Lang – if you’ll follow her, I’ll bring up the rear and make sure no one gets lost.”

Jen got the impression that Cassie wouldn’t mind too much if anyone got lost, which made her wonder exactly why she was a prefect in the first place.

Then again, with as tired as she was, _she_ probably wouldn’t care if she got lost, as long as she found a nice cosy spot to curl up and sleep.

As they walked what felt like the full length of the castle, every so often, Lily would squeeze her hand and squeak with surprise. The third time, Jen glanced at her, and Lily blushed.

“The pictures are moving,” she mumbled.

Jen gave her a tired smile. “Yeah, they do that. The portraits talk too – you want to see some of the ones in my house.” She paused, rethinking that sentence. “On second thoughts, we’ll show you the ones in James’s – I like you too much to subject you to mine.”

Finally, Cassie came to a stop at the top of one of the towers, outside a portrait of a large woman in a pink dress.

“This is the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room, we call her the Fat Lady, she doesn’t mind, don’t tell any other houses where the entrance is,” she said, her voice flat.

“C’mon, Cass, give it a bit of enthusiasm,” Martin said, grinning.

Cassie gave him a dirty look. “Some of us are early birds, others are night owls. The latter should not expect the former to be any kind of enthusiastic now, just as the former will not expect the latter to be any kind of enthusiastic when we take them to breakfast tomorrow morning.”

Martin blinked at her. “That was very eloquent, well done. Also, fair point.” He turned to face the first years. “Every six weeks or so, the password will change. It goes without saying that you shouldn’t give that out to students outside Gryffindor. If you want to hang out with friends in other houses, use the library, the grounds or the Great Hall, _not_ the Common Room. Abstract,” he added to the painting.

“Welcome back!” She trilled, the frame swinging open.

Cassie ducked through the hole that appeared and Martin ushered the others through until they were standing in a warm, cosy room, filled with squashy sofas and armchairs.

“Girls, you’re up the stairs to the left,” Martin continued. “Boys, we’re to the right. Boys aren’t allowed in girls’ dorms, girls aren’t allowed in boys’ dorms. And everything else can wait until tomorrow.”

“Thank Merlin for that,” Cassie muttered. “Follow me, girls.” She led them up the left-hand staircase, which must have been a turret, because it twisted up and up and up. Every so often, a door would appear, but Cassie kept going until they reached the very last door. She opened it and led them into a small corridor with two doors on either side.

“Okay,” she said, turning to face them. “I’m going to make this as quick as possible, because I remember first year – no one takes anything in tonight, and that is not your fault. The rules about the split dorms are true, but we can technically get into the boys’ dorms, as soon as they step foot on the staircase, it will turn into a slide.”

“Why don’t you say that downstairs?” Madeline Prewett asked.

“Because it’s more fun watching them figure it out for themselves,” Cassie said with a smirk, the first sign of life they’d seen all evening (it suited her). “Now dorms fit five per room, which is why you’ve got two rooms. The trunks have already been set up, so sorry about that, but I’m sure you’ll all get along.” She gave Jen a dubious look, but was distracted by Lily raising the hand she wasn’t clinging to Jen’s with.

Cassie sighed. “You don’t need to raise your hand.”

“Sorry,” Lily said, blushing. “But how did they know there would be ten girls in Gryffindor?”

“Muggle-born?” Cassie asked with a kind smile, getting a nod. “They didn’t. Hogwarts adjusts to what the students need. Now,” she opened one of the doors and scanned the trunks. “Prewett, Goston, Bones, McKinnon and McKinnon …” She did a double-take and looked back at the twins. “Please tell me you two don’t do the identity swap thing.”  
“Not if I can help it,” Addie said.

“Thank Merlin for that,” Cassie said again, shaking her head. “You five are in here, the other five are in the other dorm. I am on the third floor, if you need anything, come down and knock. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” the girls chorused after her.

“Good luck,” Alice added, giving Jen a hug.

“Thanks,” Jen said with a weak smile, following Lily into their dorm.

The trunks had already been placed at the foot of the beds, eliminating any need for negotiation over who wanted what bed.

“Everyone okay with the beds the way they are?” Arabella asked.

Jen examined them. Her bed was between Lily and Arabella, which was probably a good thing. She nodded.

The other girls all seemed okay as well, although the two she hadn’t met both looked more than a little apprehensive, both of them shooting glances at her out of the corner of their eyes, as though she couldn’t see them.

Lily yawned widely. “Is everyone okay if we save the introductions for tomorrow morning? I don’t think I’ll remember a damn thing.”

A quiet murmur of agreement later and they all realised at once that they had one bathroom between the five of them.

One of the girls Jen hadn’t met with darker blonde hair (she had a feeling her name was Annabelle) sighed heavily and shrugged off her robes. “I don’t have the energy for a bathroom timetable right now.”

None of them did, so they all changed into pyjamas right there and climbed into bed.

Jen pulled the hangings around her bed, enclosing herself in a little cocoon of warmth, and was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

It was, however, not a particularly restful sleep.

She woke with a start several hours later, somehow feeling more tired than when she’d gone to sleep.

Most of the other girls were already awake and, when she opened the curtains, she saw Arabella’s head poking out of her own, glaring at the other three, who had fallen silent.

“Did I miss something?” Jen asked.

The girl with lighter blonde hair cracked a sheepish smile. “Only if you count Lily’s protectiveness and Arabella’s dislike of mornings. I’m Amanda, by the way, but everyone calls me Mandy.”

“And I’m Annabelle,” the other girl added, proving Jen right. “Everyone calls me Annie.”

“We seem to have ended up with all the A’s this year,” Lily said, giggling. “Amanda, Annabelle, Arabella, Alice and Addison.”

“I hadn’t noticed that,” Jen said, getting out of bed. “I get Arabella’s dislike of mornings, where did Lily’s protectiveness come from.”

“That’s not really necessary,” Lily said hastily, her smile disappearing.

“Oh, Lily …” Jen sighed. “We are going to have to do something about your acting, my dear. It’s alright, by the way. My family are psychopaths, I’m going to expect some push-back.”

“No, it’s not alright,” Mandy said, frowning. “My dad’s a Muggle. I should know better than to judge people by their families – that makes me just as bad as them.”

“Lily told us about the train,” Annie added. “We’ll back you up, I promise.”

“Hopefully, you won’t need to,” Jen said heavily. “Regulus promised me it wouldn’t change anything.”

“I’ve been wondering about that,” Arabella said, emerging finally. “Your cousin’s Bellatrix, your brothers are Sirius and Regulus – how did you get away with Jennifer?”

Jen smiled secretively. “Luck.”

***

Jen’s ‘luck’ lasted until the end of their first class.

The day had started so well as well. Cassie and Martin met them in the Common Room to take them down the breakfast – just as Cassie had predicted, Martin was much quieter this morning, whereas she was a level of perky that Jen never would have believed possible the night before.

Cassie pointed out various classrooms as they passed, not that anyone could actually remember them all.

The Great Hall was just as full as the night before, but the atmosphere felt much more relaxed. Cassie led them to the Gryffindor table and turned to face them.

“Alright, listen up. After breakfast, we’ll direct you to your first class, after that you are more or less on your own. You need help, you ask, but other than that, we step back. The staircases move, some of the doors don’t exist, half the paintings will give you false information. Learning which ones is part of the fun.”

“Is there a map?” One of the boys asked – Jen thought it was Peter.

Cassie laughed and Martin cracked a smile. “Not yet.”

“I am going to make a map,” James muttered, rubbing his eyes.

“Good luck with that,” Cassie said, grinning. “Professor McGonagall will be by soon with your timetables, come and find us after breakfast and we’ll give you directions.”  She slipped an arm through her partner’s. “Come on, Marty, let’s get some coffee into you before you pass out again.”

“Why isn’t there a map?” Lily asked, slipping on to the bench.

“Tradition, probably,” Jen said, shrugging. “That’s half the reason we didn’t know how they Sort us.”

“Relax,” Mandy said, when Lily still looked worried. “I’m sure the teachers factor it in for the first week or so.”

As Lily nodded, Samantha Goston, from the other dorm, let out a shriek of surprise as hundreds of owls flooded through the windows and swooped down over them.

“It’s just the post,” Jen said hurriedly, half to Samantha, half to Lily, who looked ready to bolt. “They won’t hurt you.”

Her eyes scanned the owls, however, searching for any sign of her parents’ eagle owl or the telling scarlet envelope of a Howler.

She saw neither and breathed a sigh of relief, catching sight of Sirius doing the same thing a few seats down.

A few seconds later, a tawny owl landed in front of Lily, who squeaked.

“It’s okay,” Arabella said, “all post owls are well-trained. That one actually belongs to the post office so it should be incredibly well-trained. Just untie the letter from his leg and offer him some bacon.”

The owl stood perfectly still, despite Lily’s shaking hands. Once she had the letter, she did as Arabella suggested. He took the bacon with a dignified hoot and took off once more.

Lily exhaled sharply. “Okay, that was … an experience.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Mandy said sympathetically. “Who’s the letter from?”

Lily opened it, another envelope falling out. Neither of them was written on parchment. “My parents,” she said, smiling as she picked up the other envelope. “And my sister. How did they get an owl?”

Jen shrugged. “Beats me.”

“It’s the post office,” Arabella explained. “There’s a PO Box that Muggle parents can write to, and the letters get picked up by a wizard and taken to Diagon Alley, where they’re sent off by owls. They must have sent that letter yesterday.”

Lily beamed, reading through her parents’ letter. Then she opened the one from her sister.

Her smile slipped and her lower lip trembled, but before Jen could ask, she had shoved both letters in her school bag and the smile was back on her face. “Look, Professor McGonagall’s coming,” she said brightly. “I wonder what our first lesson is.”

Jen glanced at Arabella to see if she had noticed the sudden shift as well. The other girl met her eyes and they silently agreed to let Lily have it – for now.

***

It was after Charms that Jen’s luck ran out.

The lesson itself had gone smoothly. Professor Flitwick had taken Sirius and Jen’s presence in Gryffindor with a pinch of salt, treating them no differently than the rest of the class. Lily’s forced smile had become much brighter and truer, when she mastered their first spell on the first try.

“That’s going to be your thing,” Jen predicted as they stepped out into the corridor. “Charms.”

“It’s only our first lesson,” Lily said, practically glowing with success. Her smile suddenly vanished and Jen felt the hairs on the back of her neck begin to stand on end.

She turned to see what Lily had spotted and immediately stopped dead, half blocking the door.

The corridor was blocked by the first year Slytherins, who probably had Charms after them – except they weren’t alone. A good number of the older Slytherins were there too – including Lestrange, Macnair and … Regulus.

Behind her, one of the girls gave a squeak and disappeared back into the classroom, hopefully to get Flitwick.

“Come on,” James said quietly. “We’ve got Transfiguration. Flitwick says it’s …”

“Right past them,” Jen muttered. “Great.”

Mandy appeared on Lily’s other side. “Let ‘em try something,” she whispered. “We’re Gryffindors.”

Jen nodded. Holding her head high, she kept walking.

The throng of Slytherins did not disperse as they drew near. Rather, they seemed to pull in tighter together.

Jen caught Regulus’s eye, silently pleading with him for help, but he muttered something to the boy next to him and disappeared down a passage behind a tapestry.

Years of practice was the only thing that kept Jen’s face blank; inside her chest, it felt like her heart was crumbling.

James caught her hand and squeezed it tightly, glaring after her older brother.

Still, the Slytherins didn’t move, except for the older students to draw their wands. Jen pushed Lily behind her, feeling more of her housemates close in as well, forming a tight-knit group.

“Sorry, ladies and gents,” James said loudly with a grin. “Transfiguration calls. Not that we wouldn’t love to stay and chat, but McGonagall might just …”

A flash of light flew towards Jen, but before she could react, James stepped in front of her, the hex just catching his shoulder, leaving a tear in his robes and a rather nasty cut underneath.

“Now that was just rude,” he said through gritted teeth, gripping his wand.

Two other spells shot towards them, but at that moment, Flitwick barrelled out of his classroom, erecting a Shield Charm in front of the Gryffindors, causing the spells to deflect harmlessly towards the walls.

“Just _what_ is going on here?!” He demanded. “Lestrange, Selwyn, Dolohov – ten points from Slytherin apiece and detention with me tomorrow evening – attacking first years indeed! Mr Potter, go to the hospital wing, please. First year Slytherins, in to the classroom, Gryffindors, go off to Transfiguration. Anyone else, I want this corridor cleared in the next two minutes or you will _all_ be in detention!”

“Come on, Jamie,” Alice said shakily. “I’ll go with you.”

“No,” James said, gripping his shoulder and trying to stem the bleeding. “I can go alone. Tell Professor McGonagall where I am.”

***

Jen was not under any illusion that the confrontation in the corridor had been to do with her and Sirius. The Howler was a matter of time.

Professor McGonagall was Not Happy when her entire first year Gryffindor class turned up late (and James turned up even later), but once Lily and Madeline Prewett had explained what had happened, she changed her tune, so much so that she asked Sirius and Jen to remain after class.

“I’m really sorry, Professor,” Jen said hastily, before McGonagall could say anything. “I know we’re causing a lot of trouble …”

“I’ll thank you not to put words in my mouth, Miss Black,” McGonagall said crisply. “And you are not causing any trouble – yet. Mr Black, Lord Potter has warned me about the hijinks you and young Mr Potter can get up to, so I will reserve judgement.”

Sirius turned a little red and Jen hid a smile.

“The school houses,” McGonagall continued, “are just that – school houses. While all parents hope their children will follow in their footsteps, there are some who can be rather … fervent about it. I just want to reassure you that I am here to fight your corner.” She gave them a stern look. “Do not take that as _carte blanche_ to do whatever you want.”

“Of course not, Professor,” Jen said, before Sirius could say anything. “Thank you.”

McGonagall gave her a rare smile. “Off you go to lunch now.”

***

“Well,” Arabella said that evening, “I suppose as first days go, it could have gone better.”

“I personally could have done without the confrontation,” Jen said.

The five girls in her dorm were all sitting cross-legged on the floor in a circle, watching Arabella’s black cat and Lily’s tortoiseshell cat tentatively investigate one another.

“Will the Slytherins try it again?” Annabelle asked, holding out a hand for Arabella’s cat to sniff, as she decided that the other cat wasn’t a) a threat or b) worth her time.

“No,” Jen said with near-certainty. “Apparently, Professor Slughorn has backed Flitwick up and doubled the detention. Besides, that was a warning today. And Sirius and I got it loud and clear, so they don’t need to do it again.”

Mandy shook her head. “I don’t understand. Mum will be happy I’m in Gryffindor because she was, but she wouldn’t throw a hissy fit if I wasn’t.”

Jen rubbed her forehead. “You don’t know my mother.”

There was a soft knock on the door and Alice stuck her head in. “Mind if we join you?”

“My sister’s driving me crazy,” Addie added, following her in.

“The more the merrier,” Arabella said cheerfully, catching her cat as she made a beeline for the door.

“Two cats,” Addie said, smiling down at Turtle, who decided to wind herself around her legs. “Whose are they?”

“This one’s mine,” Arabella answered. “Her name is Socks, because of her paws. Lily’s is the tortoiseshell and her name is Turtle.”

Alice clapped a hand over her mouth to prevent the giggle that threatened to escape. “Turtle?”

Lily cracked a smile. “Tortoise, turtle, what’s the difference?”

“Turtles swim,” Mandy said. “Tortoises don’t.”

“Neither do cats,” Alice said.

“One of mine does,” Arabella said. “Then again, we’ve got about eight at home, so we probably have a cat that does _everything_.”

“Lily,” Jen said, watching her closely. “Are you alright?”

Lily’s earlier melancholy had slowly returned throughout the day. Right now, she was putting on an excellent façade, but it was beginning to drift.

“I’m fine,” Lily said, forcing the smile back on to her face. “Eight cats, Arabella? How did you end up with eight?”

***

That night, Lily couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned, but her eyes remained stubbornly open. The letter from her parents was in her trunk, under her bed, but it was the letter from her sister that was bothering her.

Finally, she sat up and slipped out of bed and into her slippers. Lying there and trying to sleep was going to do nothing but potentially wake up her room-mates, so she slipped out of the dorm and walked down to the Common Room.

Sometimes at home, when she couldn’t sleep, Lily would go downstairs and sit in the window seat of their living room and gaze out of the window, until the quiet movement of the night lulled her back to sleep.

When she reached the Common Room, however, she found she wasn’t alone.

Sirius was sitting on one of the sofas by the fireplace, staring at the dying embers. Her soft footfalls caught his attention and he looked up with a weak smile. “You can’t sleep either?”

“No,” Lily said, sitting beside him. “How’s James?”

“He’s okay,” Sirius said heavily. “I just wish he hadn’t had to do that.”

“Have you talked to him about it?” Lily asked.

Sirius snorted, and she took that as a ‘no’.

“Well, Jen doesn’t think it will happen again,” she said.

“Yeah?” Sirius asked. “Did she say anything about Reg?”

Lily frowned. “Who?”

“Our older brother,” Sirius said. “He’s a fourth year. He was there – at the beginning. He walked away.”

“At least he didn’t join in,” Lily muttered. “He doesn’t sound like a very good brother.”

“That’s the thing,” Sirius said heavily. “He _was_. But he was closer to Jen than me, that’s why I was wondering.”

“Oh, no,” Lily said, glancing towards the stairs, “she hasn’t said anything.”

“Well, it’s hard to find someone who gets it,” Sirius muttered.

“My sister doesn’t want anything to do with me,” Lily blurted out.

“Pardon?” Sirius asked, looking faintly startled.

“My sister,” Lily repeated. “She put a letter in with the one from my parents, telling me not to write, that she wants nothing to do with me as long as I insist on being a freak.”

“Okay, so you get it,” Sirius conceded, frowning. “Are you okay?”

Lily sniffled, wiping at her eyes. “I was hoping she was going to get over it.”

“Maybe she will,” Sirius said, patting her hand awkwardly. “Your parents are okay with it, right?”

“Oh, they’re wonderful,” Lily said, smiling. “They were surprised, but they’ve recovered quickly. Petunia’s become very odd over the last few years – even Mum and Dad don’t get it.”

Sirius frowned. “When’s your birthday, Lily?”

“January 30th,” Lily answered, “why?”

“Me and Jen are June 26th,” Sirius said. “I was going to offer to be a fill-in older sibling, but I can’t.”

“I can,” Lily said with a smile.

Sirius gave a great mock-sigh. “Well, I suppose I can deal with another older sister.”

Lily giggled, but it was cut off by a big yawn.

“Older sister or not,” Sirius said, grinning. “I think it’s bedtime.”

Lily wrinkled her nose, but stood up. “After you, _little brother_.”


	4. Summer Sleepver

The rest of that year carried on in more or less the same vein with very few surprises.

Addie and Alice, much as they had the first night, spend most of their time in the other dorm with Lily and the others, allowing Leona, Samantha and Madeline to get on with it.

The three girls had swiftly become best friends and had also developed a bit of a reputation among the teachers for being difficult.

Not necessarily in behaviour – Leona certainly always tried her best, Madeline was always perfectly polite, and Samantha was a nice enough girl – but teaching them was somewhat of a chore.

Leona never seemed to think before she spoke; Madeline had apparently concluded that, in order to get married and have children, she didn’t really need education; and Samantha was … just lazy.

As a Muggle-born, she was thoroughly unusual in that respect. Most of them did as Lily had done – fought to prove that they belonged in a world that often fought against them.

Lily was shining. The teachers loved her and the pureblood fanatics in Slytherin _hated_ her, which made her housemates a little concerned.

None of the Gryffindor first years ever went anywhere alone anyway, with the exception of Frank Longbottom. Most of his friends were in Ravenclaw – that’s not to say he didn’t get along with the other boys in his dorm, but he tended to spend most of his free time in the library or the Great Hall or outside, anywhere there were inter-house gatherings.

Peter Pettigrew, the remaining male Gryffindor, might have ended up an outsider, were it not for an incident with dungbombs on Halloween.

In the middle of a lecture by Professor McGonagall, in which James, Sirius and Remus were all being threatened with detention, point loses and who knew what else, Peter had very nervously told her that his three house-mates had been with him all afternoon and he hadn’t seen anything, so they couldn’t have possibly released two hundred dungbombs into the Great Hall just before the Halloween Feast.

Amazingly, Professor McGonagall believed him (an error she would never again repeat) and the three boys got off scot-free.

From then on, the four of them were inseparable, and the remaining seven female Gryffindors were rarely far away.

As the summer sped towards them and the Hogwarts Express sped towards London, the majority of the students got louder and louder, and Jen and Sirius got quieter and quieter.

Fitting eleven children into one train compartment was just about working for the moment but it would certainly not remain that way as they got older, so the twins got away with their self-imposed isolation for the first part of the journey, while Lily, Remus and Addie – arguably the best amongst them at Charms – discussed how to make the compartment bigger without anyone noticing, and the others had a rousing discussion about Quidditch.

As they approached London, those who would be leaving the station via the Muggle entrance rather than the Floo shed their robes in favour of the muggle clothes underneath.

“Jen? Sirius?” Lily asked. “Will you be okay?”

Jen took a shaky breath. “We should be. We don’t have any say over the Sorting. As long as we play by the rules,” she gave her brother a stern look, “we should be fine.”

“I’d invite you to ours,” James said, frowning. “But Dad and I …”

“… are going away for the summer,” Jen finished. “I know.”

The Potters had a number of properties and investments across the wizarding world, not just wizarding Britain, and James was at an age where he needed to start learning how his father managed them all, so this summer he would be accompanying his father on his travels, rather than just staying with Alice’s parents.

“Speaking of going away for the summer,” Lily said, “Mum and Dad are going to visit my grandparents in the Lake District this weekend, but Petunia’s throwing a hissy fit about me going and having to sit beside me in the car …” Her voice faltered for a moment and she took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders. “Anyway, Mum and Dad have agreed that I’m – quote – sensible enough to stay home alone for two weeks, as long as I’m not ‘alone’ alone. So any of you girls up for a sleepover?”

“Definitely!”

“James, you’re not even in the country,” Lily said with a smile, “although you would make a very pretty girl.”

While Remus and Peter roared with laughter (the fact that Sirius didn’t was cause for concern in itself) the rest of Lily’s _actual_ girlfriends agreed, with the exception of Jen, who shook her head.

“They’d kill me,” she said grimly. “And then probably you as well for good measure.”

Addie frowned. “Look, I know we’ve been joking about psycho parents, but … are you two in _actual_ danger here? I mean, should we be calling the aurors or something?”

Sirius laughed humourlessly. “Come on, Ads; you know how the Ministry works. Father has money, they won’t do anything.”

Addie rolled her eyes at the shortened version of her name, but didn’t argue (for once). “Okay, so no point in calling the aurors. But are you two in danger?”

Now it was Jen’s tone to laugh. It was light and airy and … not Jen’s usual laugh. “Of course not,” she said. “We’ll be fine.”

No one believed her.

***

Some people may have thought that Jason and Kathleen were being exceptionally irresponsible (or stupid, or both), leaving Lily at home with no adult supervision but her friends for two weeks.

However, Lily had always been a very sensible girl. Kathleen left plenty of meals in the freezer and the local supermarket was just round the corner.

The sticking point was likely to be the other girls’ parents, but all five sent letters by owl on the first day of the holidays, all saying more or less the same thing – their parents would agree, as long as they could speak to Lily’s parents first.

So on Saturday morning, while Jason packed the car and Petunia hid in her room, sulking about the number of ‘freaks’ who would be coming to the house, Lily and Kathleen waited in the living room, both suffering from similar levels of apprehension.

“I don’t know why you’re nervous,” Kathleen said, watching her daughter practically vibrate. “They’re your friends.”

“I’ve never met their parents,” Lily said. “Anyway, there’s no reason for you to be nervous either.”

“And tell me again how they’re getting here?” Kathleen asked.

“Well, since Petunia’s so worried about the neighbours seeing them and magically knowing they’re magical,” Lily said, rolling her eyes, “they’re apparating straight into the living room.”

Kathleen nodded. “And apparating is?”

Her question was answered by a loud crack, and Annabelle appearing in front of them, clutching her mother’s arm.

Kathleen let out a yelp of surprise, and Jane Princeton looked sheepish, turning her daughter loose in favour of holding out a hand to Lily’s startled mother.

“Mrs Evans, I do apologise for startling you. I wasn’t certain about apparating straight in here, but Annie insisted.”

“Lily said it would be okay,” Annabelle said, hugging the girl. “Besides, you can’t walk around a Muggle neighbourhood in Healer robes, Mum.”

“It’s quite alright,” Kathleen added, shaking Mrs Princeton’s hand, glancing down at the woman’s lime green robes. “Healer?”

“Magical doctor,” Lily explained, “without the surgery.”

“Now Annie wouldn’t know the first thing about surviving in the Muggle world,” Mrs Princeton said, “which I am a little embarrassed to admit, so I am going to trust that you’ve handled everything that end. I have given Annie some enchanted parchment, which she is to use only in an emergency – I have the other one, so whatever she writes will appear on mine immediately.”

“That makes me feel better,” Kathleen said. “From what Lily’s told me, she could certainly _contact_ us faster, but you could all get here quicker.”

“Exactly my thoughts,” Mrs Princeton said with a smile. “Now, I have to go to work; Annie, be good.”

Lily and Annabelle chorused a goodbye, and Mrs Princeton vanished with another crack.

The rest of the girls turned up with similar arrivals and similar conversations.

Jemima Cotswold (who was, of course, married to a Muggle) gave Kathleen their phone number and invited the family for lunch later in the summer, to give them people to talk to who might have an idea of what they were going through.

Colette Figg dropped Arabella off with a hamper filled with goodies.

Alice didn’t come with either of her parents, but her older sister, Amelia, who had just finished seventh year and was about to start work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Addie somehow managed to time _her_ arrival to coincide with the moment Petunia finally ventured downstairs to get in the car. Her shriek and subsequent sprint out the front door had Marlene McKinnon apologising, but Alice sniggering and giving Addie a high five.

“Alice!” Amelia protested.

“What?” Alice asked, unrepentantly. “Lily’s been crying all year over her.”

Lily blushed. “Thanks, Ally. I’m fine, Mum.”

Kathleen didn’t look convinced, but hugged her daughter. “Alright, we have to go, or we’re going to hit traffic. Thank you for allowing the girls to stay with her,” she added to Amelia and Marlene, who were the only two left.

“I trust them,” Mrs McKinnon said, glancing at her daughter. “I think.”

***

That night, the living room of Number 2 Elmwood Lane was filled with laughter.

Lily had heated up a couple of her mother’s frozen stews for dinner on the stove top – a feat made all the more difficult by her some of friends turning the hob on and off, as enchanted by Muggle technology as she was with magic.

There was no way all six girls were going to fit in Lily’s little bedroom, so Lily’s parents had helped her carry her mattress and theirs (Petunia had refused to make a donation) down to the living room, where the furniture had been pushed back against the walls to make a den, with just enough space around the outside of the mattresses to move around it.

Rather predictably, none of the girls were in the mood to go to sleep yet, so Lily made hot chocolate and popcorn.

They had a brief little debate over whether or not one should add marshmallows to hot chocolate or not – or rather, Addie and Arabella had a brief little debate, and the others watched, before Lily went to fetch the popcorn from the kitchen and returned to continue the game the snacks had postponed.

“Alright, I’ve got one,” she announced, interrupting Addie’s Ode to a Marshmallow (she had started repeating herself anyway). “First kiss?”

Most of them shrugged, not having an answer yet.

“The magical world should start selling stuff like this,” Mandy said, taking a handful of popcorn.

“Well, there’s my calling,” Lily suggested. “I could sell Muggle food in the magical world.”

“Sirius Black,” Arabella said. “And don’t be ridiculous, Lily, you’ve got more ahead of you than that.”

“Wait, go back,” Addie said, gaping at her. “Sirius Black? When?”

Alice burst into giggles, and Arabella couldn’t help grinning. “Well, I was five years old and Mum and Dad took me to the park. I think Sirius and Jen must have been visiting James, because they were there, and James dared Sirius to kiss me.”

“Of course he did,” Annabelle said, rolling her eyes. “What did you do?”

Arabella shrugged. “I hit him.”

Alice toppled over, tears streaming down her face at the memory.

The story itself wasn’t that funny, but Alice’s reaction combined with the fairly late hour had all the girls in giggle fits, until Lily froze and began gesturing for them to quieten down.

As the laughter died away, they all heard what Lily had; something hammering on the front door.

“Do you think we’re keeping the neighbours awake?” Addie whispered.

“I don’t think so,” Lily said. “It’s a detached house, they shouldn’t be able to hear us.” She bit her lip and got to her feet. “Maybe I should answer the door.”

“Lily, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Mandy asked, glancing at the clock. “It’s very late.”

“Exactly,” Lily said. “What if they need help?”

Her wand was in her pocket, but she still didn’t really know any defensive spells – at least nothing that would effectively deal with a Muggle intruder without needing Ministry assistance (not to mention it was illegal for her to use magic outside school) – so she made a detour to the kitchen and grabbed a large frying pan from the cupboard.

Holding it ready, she opened the front door just a touch, using her body to stop it from opening further. “Hello?”

“Help …”

Her heart thudding in her chest, Lily’s hand hit the switch on the wall, flooding the hallway with light. A gasp escaped her mouth and the flying pan fell to the floor as she flung the door open and caught the boy as he pitched forwards, falling unconscious. “Girls!”

There was a commotion in  the living room as everyone fought their way into the hall.

“What’s going on?”

“What’s happened?”

“Who was it”

“Lily, are you alright?”

“Merlin, what happened to him?!”

At Addie’s cry, everyone else shut up and stared at the boy in Lily’s arms. She was struggling to hold on to his dead weight; his clothes were damp with blood and his face covered in bruises.

“What do we do now?” Arabella whispered.

“First, someone close the door,” Lily answered. “Mandy, give me a hand, would you?”

Mandy nodded, taking the boy’s feet and helping Lily carry him into the living room and lay him on the sofa.

“Should we call an amberlate?” Annabelle asked.

Addie frowned. “A what?”

“An ambulance,” Lily corrected. “It’s a … Never mind. No, look what he’s wearing.” At the first light, she had assumed it was a football shirt, but the emblem was not one she recognised. “I think it’s a magical shirt – you know, one of those ones that looks like a Muggle shirt to start with, but as a witch or wizard looks at it, it changes … see!”

As they watched, the emblem shimmered and morphed into that of a Quidditch team.

Mandy sniggered.  
“What is funny about this?!” Lily asked, aghast.

“He supports the Wimbourne Wasps,” Mandy answered with a smirk. “They’re almost as bad as the Cannons at the moment.”

“They’ll get better,” Addie said confidently. “All they need is a good … Oh dear.”

Lily sighed. “What now?!”

Addie’s hand had flown to her mouth, and she stared at the boy on the sofa. “He’s about our age, probably goes to Hogwarts …” Gently, she wiped the blood off of his face, revealing aristocratic features that would be easily recognised by any pureblood.

Annabelle gasped in horror. “Oh Merlin, Sirius!” She jumped to her feet. “I’ll write to Mum.”

Lily darted into the kitchen again, this time retrieving the first aid kit from under the sink. As expected, there was little inside that could do much against magical injuries.

Still, they did their best, until Jane Princeton apparated in with another loud crack.

Immediately, Annabelle pulled her friends away to allow her mother to work.

“Annie, what do you know?” Jane asked brusquely.

“Not much,” Annie admitted. “He turned up on the doorstep and passed out.”

“Um, Mrs Princeton?” Lily asked, a little nervously. “Your magic won’t get picked up, will it?”

“No, dear, I’m of age and they’ll pick up my magical signature,” Jane assured her. “Plus, I’ll need to register this tomorrow, so you won’t get into trouble.” She frowned, waving her wand over Sirius several times. “Oh dear … Oh, the poor child …”

Annabelle motioned for the others to keep their questions to themselves, while her mother opened her bag and pulled out some potions.

“Annie, give him these – isn’t his sister in Gryffindor as well?”

Annabelle nodded, taking the phials carefully. “Jennifer. I’m worried about her.”

“Yes, so am I,” Jane agreed. “I’m going to go and fetch her.”

“How’s she going to do that?” Arabella asked, once she had disapparated.

“I don’t know,” Annabelle said, looking at the phials in her hands. “Mum has her ways.”

“Do you think it matters which order he takes those in?” Addie asked, helping Lily sit Sirius up.

“Mum would have told us if it did,” Annabelle said, her hands beginning to tremble.

“Annie?” Arabella asked gently. “What’s wrong?”

“These potions …” Annabelle said.

“What about them?” Mandy asked in interest. She had shown herself to be somewhat of a potions prodigy over the last year, but she only recognised a few of the potions in Annie’s hands. “That’s a blood replenisher, I know that, but what are the other two?”

“Well, the brown one has a really long name I can never remember,” Annabelle said, “but it basically boosts your immune system. It’s the blue one I’m worried about.”

“Why, what does that one do?” Lily asked.

Annabelle looked grim. “It’s the antidote to the Cruciatus Curse.”


	5. Chapter Four - Safe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very short chapter, for which I apologise, but I could find a better breaking point.

Arabella let out a string of words that would have had her mother washing her mouth out with soap.

Addie merely covered her mouth, tears springing to her eyes. “Oh, _Sirius_.”

“Wait,” Lily said, frowning. “What’s the Cruciatus Curse?”

“It’s one of the most vile spells in the Wizarding World,” Annabelle answered, still looking upset. “It’s one of the Unforgivable Curses – just using one against another person earns you an automatic life sentence in Azkaban.”

“And Azkaban is?” Lily asked.

“It’s the Wizarding Prison,” Mandy answered. “Best not talked about, Lils. Why haven’t we heard of these curses? And what does this one do?”

“We’re not supposed to get taught them until sixth year, I don’t think,” Arabella said, her eyes flashing with fury. “I only know because my father was an auror and he’s getting paranoid. It’s a torture curse, basically. If you keep someone under it for too long, it can drive them insane.”

Lily gave a strangled gasp, unconsciously moving to Sirius’s side.

“If Mum thought that had happened, she would have taken him straight to St Mungo’s,” Annie reassured them.

Mandy was focussed on something else. “Ara, why’s your dad getting paranoid?”

Arabella sighed. “Well, you guys have heard about the murders, right?”

They all nodded. Over the last year or two, a group of wizards had begun murdering Muggles for no reason other than pureblood supremacy.

“Dad doesn’t think it’s going to go away,” Arabella said grimly. “He thinks the guy in charge – Voldemort? He’s much worse than the Ministry wants to admit.”

“The Ministry won’t admit anything until purebloods start suffering,” Addie said darkly. “They’re bigoted morons. I bet Sirius’s parents get off scot-free.”

Before anyone could agree or disagree, Jane reappeared with a loud _crack_ , holding on to Jen, who appeared unharmed, but hysterical.

“Annie, Calming Draught!” Jane called, sitting the girl down.

Annabelle darted to her mother’s bag and rifled through it, quickly pulling out the correct bottle and passing it over.

It took a few moments to convince Jen to drink it, but slowly the hyperventilating stopped and her colour seemed to return to normal.

As soon as she appeared calmer, Lily hurried over, enveloping her best friend in a hug that she clung to.

“Did you get them?” Annie asked, waving the empty anti-Cruciatus vial.

Jane sighed. “No. I could have taken the aurors, but if they got off – which they probably would have done – Jen and Sirius would be right back where they started. I blackmailed them into agreeing never to go near them again.”

Addie sighed. “Good enough, I suppose.”

“I’ll phone Mum tomorrow,” Lily said. “See if they can stay here for the rest of the summer.”

“And if not,” Jane added, “they’re welcome with us.”

“Thank you,” Jen whispered.

Jane waved her wand over Sirius. “He should be alright, given a good night’s sleep. I’ll come and check up on him tomorrow, if that’s alright, Lily.”

Lily nodded vigorously. “Yes, of course.”

Jane gave her daughter a hug, bid them all goodnight, and disapparated.

“Jen?” Alice asked gently. “What happened?”

Jen sucked in a shuddering breath, still clinging to Lily. “You may have guessed that Sirius and I were putting on a front on the train.”

“We had, oddly enough,” Addie said dryly. “For a good liar, Jen, you’re a terrible liar.”

Jen choked out a laugh. “We promised each other, that if everything went wrong and one of us could get out and get help, we would and leave the other one there.”

“So what happened?” Mandy repeated. “This can’t have just been the Gryffindor thing, can it?”

“No,” Jen admitted. “No, it wasn’t. They don’t like it and they made that clear, but they couldn’t change it. McGonagall already told them she wouldn’t re-sort us.” She loosened her grip on Lily to scrub at her eyes, leaving tear-streaks across her face. “No, it was him. Voldemort.” She laughed humourlessly. “Mother and Father think he’s got the right idea – no surprises there. Apparently, he marks his followers – a brand on their arm.”

Lily frowned. “That’s barbaric.”

“And slaughtering people because they don’t have magic isn’t?” Alice asked, more gently than she would have done if Lily wasn’t Muggle-born herself.

“Yeah, well, once they come of age, he charms it so it burns when he calls them,” Jen said grimly, “so he can call them all at once.” She took a deep breath. “Reggie’s taken it.”

“But he’s only fifteen!” Addie protested. “He hasn’t even taken his OWLs yet!”

“Yeah, well it gets worse,” Jen said. “Bella’s taken it too.”

“But she’s our age!” Lily cried.

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Annabelle muttered, pressing a hand to Sirius’s forehead to check that his fever was subsiding. “That girl is psycho. I bet the Lestranges have taken it too, haven’t they?”

Jen nodded. “And Malfoy. Cissy hasn’t, thank Merlin.”

“Hang on, if Narcissa hasn’t taken it, why isn’t she here, cursed to oblivion?” Mandy asked.

“Because she’s keeping the betrothal,” Jen answered. “I finally told them where Macnair could shove it, and we both told them that nothing would ever make us join Voldemort. They decided to test it.”

“Where was Regulus during all this?” Lily asked tentatively.

Jen sighed. “He left the room. Probably locked himself in his room so he couldn’t hear us screaming.”

Any reaction to that was deterred by a gasp of air from the other sofa and Sirius bolting upright.

“Easy,” Annabelle said soothingly. “You’re okay, Sirius.”

Jen quickly untangled herself from Lily and ran across the room to her brother. “Sirius, we’re safe.”

“Jen …” Sirius grabbed her in a hug, his hands still shaking. “Are you okay? What happened? Where are we?”

“We’re at Lily’s house,” Jen told him. “You managed to find her. How, I don’t know.”

“I wasn’t looking,” Sirius admitted. “I just … ran.”

“You must have headed due South through the fields,” Lily said, coming to take his hand. “How do you feel?”

“Difficult to say,” Sirius answered. “Is the room actually spinning, or is that just me?”

“Lie back down,” Annabelle said firmly. “You’re not doing yourself any favours.”

“What happens when we go back?” Sirius asked, conceding to Annie’s commands.

“We’re not,” Jen said, a little giddily. “Mrs Princeton blackmailed them into leaving us alone. Their reputation will make it work. We’re safe now.”

“We might be,” Sirius said darkly. “But this Voldemort guy isn’t going to have any trouble finding followers.”

Lily shuddered. “Let’s not talk about him tonight. It’s late. I’ll make some more hot chocolate.”

“Good idea,” Mandy said. “I’ll come and help.”

Between the two of them, they soon emerged from the kitchen with a tray holding eight mugs filled with hot chocolate, a can of whipped cream and a bowl of marshmallows, by which time talk of a rising Dark Lord had been replaced by a lively Quidditch debate, which Mandy joined into with gusto while Lily handed the mugs round.

Addie immediately added a layer of marshmallows to hers. “You see? That is how you make hot chocolate.”

Arabella wrinkled her nose. “I still say its sacrilege, adding those … things.”

Lily sighed. “Here we go again.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I should be rewriting Defying the Enemy, and then working on The Last Stand and Aftermath, but this wouldn't leave me alone. Please don't expect speedy updates - it will be as and when.


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